Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Biking Around Kilauea:
A visit to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
(or proof that lava is NOT a plasma!)

	Jet lag hit me hard! I was up at 4:45 am with no chance of going back to sleep. I got dressed, went to breakfast, and was lucky enough to be out on the deck to see this gorgeous, sun-lit view of Haleakala (I think).
My tour wasn't until 10:00 am, so Greer let me hang out in her office and chat while she got reports done.
	We drove along Banyan Drive in Hilo, passed Liliuokalani Gardens, and took highway 11 south to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Our tour's first stop was at the Kilauea Visitor Center for a bathroom break and to gear up.
Our tour was very small, only 8 members and two guides (Jeff and Grant, I think). The company was called Nui Pohaku. The guides were the most professional of the three tours I took in Hawai'i; they made the experience fun and safe. We each got a mountain bike, windbreaker, and helmet. The parking lot was where we got a feel for our bikes. It's been a long time since I've been on a bike with thumb-shift gears; it took me over half the tour to get things working correctly (but that was my fault, not the fault of the helpful guides).
	Our first stop was at Kilauea Iki Crater.
Our second stop was the Thurston Lava Tube. I had read about this in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel not long before my trip, so I was excited to see it in person. We left our bikes near the road and headed down.
	Here I am at the entrance to the lava tube. At this point, I was reminded of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Šupljara Cave in Croatia.

Inside the lava tube, it was dark, wet, and muddy. Unbelievable that lava flowed through here!

The Thurston Lava Tube was so fun! Our visit quickly came to an end, though, and we went back to our bikes.
No, we didn't bike on the lava! After a snack stop, we biked a ways more. This photo was taken at the September 1982 flow turnout. Pretty neat!
	Another round of biking, then we stopped at the Halema'uma'u Crater overlook for some gorgeous views.
It was at this stop that our guide led us to some steam vents. Just as I tell you, my students, steam is invisible and can be over 100 degrees Celsius! [What we see is condensed water droplets.] It was quite amazing to feel how much heat can come out of an empty hole in the ground.
	Our final stage on the bike was up Cardiac Hill to the Jaggar Museum. From the museum, there was an awesome view of where we had been, Halema'uma'u Crater. The "Kilauea Volcano Biking" shore excursion was a blast. I highly recommend it!
At 9:30 pm that night, Greer took me out on the decks as we passed by where the lava from Kilauea flows into the ocean. Photos from my little camera don't capture the beauty of the lava glowing and hitting the water. A once-in-a-lifetime sight! NOTE: Those tiny orange blobs in the distance are the lava : )